"The kids in Alesana, August Burns Red, and possibly even As I Lay Dying have no fucking idea who those pioneering metalcore bands are, much less that screamy vocals were born in the tiny basement shows and vegan bakesales of the 90s DIY hardcore scene. [...] What is “the missing link”? What is the mysterious subgenre connecting the skramz/hardcore scenes of my youth to the strange new world of modern screamo?? How did I get from watching Charles Bronson in a basement with 35 people in 1995 to seeing The Devil Wears Prada nearly crack the Billboard Top 10?! They sure as fuck have no idea who Charles Bronson or Bloodlet were, but if you do a little backtracking, the link is undeniable. [...] Like many other scholars, I believe the “missing link” is the cohort of bands that includes Thursday, Hawthorne Heights, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, and Saves The Day. Much like Nirvana and Pearl Jam before them, the jerks in these bands knew a thing or two about legitimate hardcore/metalcore, but created music that became popular with mainstreamers/new jacks who were in turn inspired to create several generations of soulless, derivative bullshit that resembled real hardcore enough to be annoying, but not enough to actually be good. A second wave of even worse screamo/metalcore bands followed them up, including notorious shit-merchants like Chiodos, From First To Last, and Aiden. At least they weren’t Christian. [...]"